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High Elections Commission member Mahmoud Abu Shusha spoke out against reports of electoral violations in the constitutional referendum in a press conference on Tuesday.

He denied that some polling stations were supervised by individuals who were not judges, and also said there were no reported attempts to influence voters, as has been claimed by some rights groups.

He also swept aside reports that Secretary General Zaghloul al-Balshy would not be supervising the second round of voting scheduled for 22 December. Abu Shusha said Balshy did not attend the press conference because he was undergoing medical examinations for his eye, but that he was not abdicating his position.

Balshy is reported to be scheduled for eye surgery on Tuesday and may not be able to supervise voting on Saturday.